Entrepreneurship often begins as a calling rather than a conscious decision. For Corey Capasso, it was exactly that: a drive to control his own destiny and create freedom through building innovative ventures.
Raised in the suburbs of New Jersey, Corey’s early life was shaped by the hardworking values of his family. His grandfather was a union truck driver for the Teamsters, his mother dedicated 42 years as a public elementary school teacher, and his father worked in corporate America before his untimely passing. These experiences instilled resilience, grit, and a passion to forge his own path. Throughout his life, Corey gravitated toward entrepreneurship with a want to solve problems and create solutions with lasting impact.
Although not from Wisconsin, Corey’s is a true Badger. He graduated from UW-Madison with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree double majoring in Entrepreneurship and Risk Management and Insurance in 2009. Reflecting on his time at UW, he credits the university’s supportive ecosystem, stating, “UW fostered an entrepreneurially friendly environment. I even had the chance to meet John Morgridge, former CEO of Cisco and one of UW’s largest donors. The network extends big if you are willing to go out and leverage it.”
Corey’s career highlights the path of innovation as a dedicated career entrepreneur. Before founding Urbint, he has launched and led multiple ventures such as Spinback, a social commerce platform that help brands increase marketing and sales, and Nomi, a retail analytics company providing real-time data insights to optimize in-store customer experiences.
Urbint stands today as a world leader in leveraging machine learning and predictive analytics to improve safety and resilience of critical infrastructure for energy and utility companies. Its technology helps prevent incidents, protect workers, and prepare utilities for the challenges of the next century.
The idea for Urbint emerged during a meeting with a large New York utility company. Corey recalls, “It really opened our eyes to the problem of aging infrastructure and how it leads to major public safety issues like gas explosions.” He adds, “Energy utilities impact the daily quality of life of every single citizen. When we realized the potential society impact, that’s when we decided to double down.”
Recently, Urbint was acquired by Intron, Inc., a leading global technology company that serves the energy sector. Reflecting on the sale, Corey jokes, “It was an overnight success 20 years in the making.” The decision to partner with Itron came from careful evaluation of who could best accelerate Urbint’s mission. “We felt that it was a good long-term home for Urbint, because not only could they leverage the existing foundation but because they continuously invest in it… It was really a journey to product-market fit.”
Corey’s journey as a career entrepreneur has not been without challenges. “The biggest obstacle as an entrepreneur is that you are doing something that hasn’t been done before. You are taking a massive risk for multiple years,” he explains. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple: take real risk, make sacrifices, and commit. If you have a problem that keeps you up at night, it is one worth solving.”
Beyond his ventures, Corey has given back to UW through serving on the Wisconsin Applied Ventures in Entrepreneurship (WAVE) board for 13 years. He was also one of the speakers at the inaugural Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Showcase event. He says, “The overall community at UW supported my entrepreneurial journey the best they could. So naturally, I saw it as an opportunity to give back.”
From taking big risks to building life-changing technology, Corey Capasso is proof that doing what you love can lead to creating impact. Knowing Corey, this is just the beginning. We cannot wait to see what he creates next.
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